The 7-inch tablet has enjoyed a meteoric rise to prominence even though it was publicly blasted by Steve Jobs at a certain point. The Nexus 7 and the Kindle Fire have both accelerated the growth of the 7-inch tablet, with many manufacturers jumping in on the act. Now there are a plethora of small tablets that were made by a variety of manufacturers. But is the success of 7-inch tablets a threat to their 10-inch brothers?

Portability is king

The digital world has always driven to make devices thinner and lighter. Computers went from taking up a whole room, to sitting inconspicuously on a desk, to fitting into your backpack. And now they fit in our pockets. This all occurred in a such a short space of time, some would be forgiven for forgetting our 27 tonne Halcyon days.

Eniac: The first computer

A 10-inch tablet would become uncomfortable to hold suspended in the air after a few minutes, while a 7-inch tablet remains easy to hold for hours. You can also fit a 7-inch tablet in a coat pocket and even in large pants pockets (albeit uncomfortably), something impossible to do with a 10-inch tablet.

The comfort 7-inch devices can offer is, for most people, enough to buy them. So while a 10-inch tablet is your “couch buddy,” a 7-inch tablet is your “everywhere” buddy.

When the price is right, people will buy

At $200 the Nexus 7 is a safe bet for some, and within the price range of many. Convincing people to let go of $200 of their hard earned cash is a lot easier than convincing somebody to shell out $500 for an iPad. When you couple it with brilliant hardware, the latest software and a beautiful design you know you’ve got a winner on your hands.

For the $500 that an iPad or Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 costs, you can buy a Nexus 7 32GB ($250) and a Samsung Chromebook ($250), meaning you get all of the features of a tablet with the bonus of a full browser (and more).

All of the features, none of the drawbacks

When you can get a tablet that is cheap, powerful and does everything that a 10-inch tablet can do, then these tablets are sure to take up some market share, but how much? Well according to a report released in April by Animoca, an app publisher for Android, the best selling Android tablets measure 7 inches in size.

GigaOM: “The figures come from Animoca users around the world for one month, ending March 20, with a sample size of 978,000.”

When 7-inch tablets hold 5 of the top 7 Android tablet spots, then it is obvious that they are a clear favourite among Android users, but like all products, there are drawbacks.

The “race to the bottom” effect

With all the manufacturers looking to break the magic $200 barrier, innovation is in danger of getting buried underneath it all. When you are selling your device at break-even, or even at a loss, it is hard to keep pushing the greatest innovations and that means 7-inch tablets would always be a step behind their 10-inch brethren.

Luckily (even if you don’t realise it), both Apple and Samsung have chosen not to partake in this “race to the bottom,” as both have introduced smaller tablets that cost much more than their 7-inch counterparts, at $330 for the iPad mini and $400 for the Note 8.0. This means that we will continue to see innovation in the 7-inch (or thereabouts) market.

Making your tablet a “tablet PC”

With a 10-inch tablet, all you need to do is hit the net and choose one of the many bluetooth keyboard-case combo and you can transform your tablet into a clamshell laptop.

This allows you to type those long emails, or punch out a novella on the train. Even though you can grab a bluetooth keyboard-case combo for a 7-inch tablet, the lack of vertical screen space means you are severely limited. So in this case, a 7-inch tablet loses out to the larger 10-inch tablet.

The market moves quickly

Even as 7-inch tablets replace 10-inch tablets, a new trend is appearing on the radar. The market that was popularized with the Galaxy Note has exploded into smartphones spanning dozens of sizes and even recently hitting 7 inches in size, with the ASUS FonePad.

These devices (yep, we aren’t using the “ph” word here), can combine the tablet and phone into one, getting rid of the need for a second device. 7-inch tablets are within touching distance of these smartphones, so could they be swallowed whole by this emerging trend?

Wrap up

The mobile market is a funny business. While the smartphone market is upscaling, the tablet market is downscaling and now they are on a collision course that seems unavoidable. The market has seemed to take a liking to both trends, so it will be interesting to see which emerges victorious. The cheap and cheerful 7-inch tablet or the all-in one phablet (I’m sorry, I just couldn’t help myself).

Do you think 10-inch tablets have been made irrelevant? Are 5-inch (and bigger) smartphones the future? Still going to buy the new Nexus 7? Let us know in the comments.

Carphone Warehouse is offering a free Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 with the purchase of a Galaxy S3 Mini on a new two-year contract.

Interested buyers will have to sign-up for a new two-year contract through O2, Orange or Vodafone to get the free Galaxy Tab 2 7.0. Plans begin at £22, £26 and £38, respectively. Additional plan options can be found at the source link below.

Alternatively, if you’re not interested in a new two-year contract and still want a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, the tablet is running for £122.99 on eBay, which is $189.05 USD at current exchange rates.

The Samsung Galaxy S3 Mini supports a 4-inch WVGA Super AMOLED display, a dual-core 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, a 5MP rear-facing camera, a VGA front-facing shooter and 8GB of internal storage. It also has a slot for a microSD card allowing up to 32GB of expandable storage. On the software side of things, the device is running Samsung’s TouchWiz atop of Android 4.1.2, which can be upgraded to Android 4.2.

Are you interested in this deal from Carphone Warehouse or are you waiting on the Galaxy S4 Mini’s arrival?

The Galaxy Tab 2 software update process will continue with Android 4.1.2 and will end completely at Android 4.2.2, a Samsung insider says.

The insider has confirmed for Sam Mobile that all Samsung dual-core smartphones and tablets will be updated until Android 4.2.2 and that the update process will end there. He also said that, as far as tablets are concerned, the plan is to update all of them to Android 4.1.2 or even directly to 4.2.2 until the second or third quarter of 2013. If you remember, both tablets got their first Jelly Bean taste in January.

There is even more good news, as it appears there is hope for first-generation Galaxy Tab users, too. A Jelly Bean ROM is tested for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 (GT-7500) and Galaxy Tab 8.9 (GT-7300) – provided the CPU can handle it. Also, the Galaxy Tab 7.7 (GT-P6800) and Galaxy Tab Plus (GT-P6200) are being tested with Android 4.1.2.

It’s all great news for Galaxy Tab users, as they have a chance of getting new features, thus extending their tablets’ life (especially since the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is ranking pretty well in terms of repairability). However, we’re still waiting for Samsung to officially confirm these Android update plans before getting too excited.

If you are tired of seeing the same outdated software on your Verizon Samsung Galaxy Tab, there is an OTA update that is rolling out to most users that upgrades your tablet to, well, newer outdated software.

Android 4.1 is now hitting the Verizon Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and 7, bringing all the performance improvements you would expect from Project Butter, as well as a healthy serving of Google Now.

While those are the 2 biggest improvements, there are going to be specific features that will only be available on your particular device: click here to check out the entire list of changes for the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 and here for the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0.

As always, if you are one of the people who have not had the update pushed to your tab yet, head into the Settings -> About device -> System updates to manually ping the servers. The update has already been approved and pushed to the non-carrier branded unlocked models, so hopefully there should not be any hidden problems or major bugs. Do let us know how the update is performing in the comments.

There are probably hundreds of ways you can rank the best and worst tablets around. Most of you do it by display size and crispness, performance or build quality, but how about repairability?

True, tearing a tab apart and then putting it together with your bare hands and a Phillips screwdriver are not the first things to come to mind when scouring the online stores for the best deal. But wouldn’t it be nice to know that you could easily do that if you really needed to?

The guys at iFixit seem to think so, and, after taking several tablets for destructive spins and then making them look as new, they’ve come to a few interesting conclusions. The most shocking revelation – Dell’s XPS 10 is the best at something.

Well, not the best, but the easiest to repair slate. The Windows-based 10-incher fell short of perfection, but still got 9 points out of ten. Which basically means that fixing the thing in time of need is a walk in the park for anybody.

Amazon’s Kindle Fire is the very worthy silver medalist, with an 8 score, while the podium is wrapped up by… wait for it… the 5-inch Dell Streak. Talk about a blast from the past.

The number four through six spots on the ranks are all captured by Android, but you’ll never guess who the highly commendable podium follow-ups are. We have the Motorola Xoom, Samsung’s Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 and Amazon’s Kindle Fire HD.

Wow! That is just… random. A two year-old 10-incher, an early 2012 7-incher and a late 2012 7-incher. There’s one more Android tab in the top 10, the Nexus 7, ranked an honorable eight, behind the Nook Simple Touch (which is also technically based on Android, we guess) and ahead of the iPad 1 and Nook Tablet (again running tweaked Android).

But now comes the fun part. If we look past the Nexus 10 and Kindle Fire HD 8.9, who haven’t made the top 10 cut, but have still got passing grades. The Surface RT has a repairability score of 4, the iPads 2, 3, 4 and Mini get two points each, while the Surface Pro is at rock bottom, with 1 out of 10.

Pretty depressing, but hey, think of it this way – those four iPads are tied with Amazon’s Kindle Fire… if we add all their numbers together. As for the Surface RT and Pro, they’re seriously not worth our bad puns. They’re bad puns themselves. Ba dum tsss!

Just for the record, I know this is not the most meaningful competition. After all, the tabs are not ranked here from best to worst, but from easiest to toughest to repair. And yet chances are some of you will want to tinker around with your tab’s internals. In which case you could or could not go for Android, but you definitely should never, ever choose Apple. Just saying.

Source: iFixit;]]>http://www.androidauthority.com/ifixit-kindle-fire-easiest-repair-android-tablet-163698/feed/3Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 gets Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean updatehttp://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7-0-update-162222/
http://www.androidauthority.com/samsung-galaxy-tab-2-7-0-update-162222/#commentsWed, 27 Feb 2013 02:37:54 +0000http://www.androidauthority.com/?p=162222
Owners of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 are in for a treat this morning, thanks to a new software update rollout for Android 4.1.2 Jelly Bean. If you recall, back in January, the Android 4.1.1 Jelly Bean software update for it was released. Now users of one of Samsung’s most popular 7-inch tablets can upgrade the software on their devices yet again.

Currently, the software update is said to be rolling out in phases. So if you own a Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 yourself, don’t worry if you still haven’t received an upgrade notification on own device. It probably just isn’t available for those in your country yet, but it should be very soon. According to the official firmware details, the software update goes by build number JZO54K. It can be facilitated through Samsung KIES or via an over-the-air (OTA) download.

It’s best to wait until you get an official notification to upgrade before checking for the latest software on your device. In the meantime, you may prepare by making sure that your tablet is fully charged in order to avoid any hiccups during the actual upgrade process, that is once you begin.

In a post on Clove’s blog, Samsung confirmed that they would be introducing two new accessories for the tablets: a Bluetooth keyboard and a stand. This means that the customer will be shelling out more money for two accessories rather than one. Not to mention that a Bluetooth keyboard and stand is much less practical than a keyboard dock for professional users.

This is a bad move on Samsung’s part and not just because they’re discontinuing the keyboard dock. According to Clove, customers have been waiting for the keyboard dock since November. It is sad that these customers will no longer be able to get this dock after waiting four months. Not to mention they will be forced to pay a higher price for a less practical keyboard solution.

Neither Clove or Samsung has announced when the new keyboard solution will become available. A cost has not been announced either. Are you excited for the new keyboard solution or would you rather snag the regular keyboard dock?

Another day, another report emphasizing Samsung’s almost complete control over the Android market. Or, in this particular case, two reports already. And it’s not even dawn on the West Coast yet.

After a very flattering Canalys survey that had Sammy holding a 29% share of the global smartphone market during Q4 2012, it’s time for more good news for the Galaxy via Localytics. The mobile analytics firm has released a very interesting top 10 focused only on Android devices supposedly in use throughout January 2013.

And while the Galaxy S3’s leadership position doesn’t come as a major shocker, the incredibly heavy presence of various Samsung devices in the top 10 does. Believe it or not, Sammy has eight of those ten leading Android devices, including the first six.

The only outsiders that kept this Samsung win from turning into a severe humiliation for the rest of the Android world come from Amazon and Motorola – the Kindle Fire, in seventh, and Droid Razr, in ninth.

The GS3’s lead over the silver medalist might not be as massive as you’d expect (just 1%), but that’s no sweat for Samsung. It’s all good in the Galaxy family, with the S3 holding a 9.2% market share and the S2 coming behind at 8.2%.

Another minor surprise might be the absence of both GNote “phablets” from the podium. The Galaxy Ace is instead the winner of the bronze medal, with 3%, followed closely by the first-gen Note (2.6%) and the Note 2 (2%).

The Galaxy Y is sixth, with 1.9%, followed by the Kindle Fire, the apparent leader of the Android tablet market, with 1.7%. But not even Amazon’s tab win is very clear, because the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is breathing down Fire’s neck with 1.4%. Moto’s Droid Razr and the OG Epic 4G wrap up the top ten, both with 1.3% shares.

If we add those numbers together, we’ll get an impressive 29.6% share for Samsung’s top 8 devices, which sounds about right when considering Localytics notes that “Samsung as a whole made up 47% of Android devices worldwide” in January. That’s tied with December and slightly below November’s 48% share.

Looking at recent history, we also have to note GS3’s continuing rise. The 4.8-incher is in fact king for the first time, with the S2 holding the top spot in December by only 0.1%. Other interesting movements are Note 2’s rise from ninth in December to fifth now, but also a baffling boost for the Tab 2 7.0 (11th in December, eight now).

Meanwhile, there seems to be very little hope for any kind of charge from outside Sammy’s Galaxy. The Nexus 7 is still out of the top ten, HTC didn’t even have a single device in December’s top 20, while Nexus 4’s scarce availability has moved one step up, but it’s probably not enough to make the LG handheld a serious contender.

Source: Localytics;]]>http://www.androidauthority.com/localytics-samsung-top-10-android-devices-galaxy-s3-154757/feed/14Which small tablet is the best value for money?http://www.androidauthority.com/small-tablet-best-value-154289/
http://www.androidauthority.com/small-tablet-best-value-154289/#commentsWed, 06 Feb 2013 15:13:29 +0000http://www.androidauthority.com/?p=154289

We love mobile technology, but who wants to pay more than they have to? The trouble is that finding the best quality devices at fair prices is a real challenge. Without in depth research you can easily end up with buyer’s remorse. It’s difficult to quantify value when it comes to tablets because people have different priorities, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try.

Join us as we try to work out which small tablets represent the best value for money.

Tablet frenzy

The whole tablet market is going crazy right now. According to IDC the last quarter of 2012 saw a record 52.5 million tablets shipped, up over 75 percent on the same quarter last year. The fastest growing sector of the tablet market is in the 7 to 10 inch range. Market research by IHS iSuppli is suggesting that the 7-inch tablet market doubled in 2012 and that it will double again in 2013.

Success for Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablets and Google’s Nexus 7, not to mention a host of lesser known manufacturers, has established clear demand for small tablets. Apple took notice and followed with the iPad mini. The floodgates have opened for small tablets, especially on the Android platform. CES 2013 played host to new releases in this sector from Polaroid, Acer, Vizio and many more. We expect to see more of the same at MWC this month.

How do you pick a winner?

If you have no budget restrictions whatsoever then you can just go ahead and buy the tablet with the best reviews. To get a true picture you should try to find a site that plugs into multiple reviews from trusted tech sites and consumers to give an overview, or a service that aggregates review scores. You might consider checking out Consumer Search or Trusted Reviews. You could also do the legwork yourself and run through the reviews from your most trusted sources to build a complete picture.

You should also have a list of must-have features that are deal breakers for you so that you can quickly filter out tablets that won’t deliver what you need. For example, you might feel a microSD card slot is vital, or you might want an HD screen for watching movies. Make a list.

Most of us don’t have the luxury of unlimited funds. We want to get real value for money. How do you work out whether you are paying over the odds for something? What constitutes the best bang for your buck?

Measuring value

A recent post at the Movaluate blog tackled this subject by analyzing fair market value and average review ratings for small tablets. They took the average of review scores from four big tech sites and calculated the value of each review point. It’s true to some extent that you get what you pay for and they found that, in general, the more expensive the tablet, the higher the score, but the cost per rating point paints a slightly different picture.

Their conclusion is that the Kindle Fire HD 7, Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, and the Nexus 7 offer the best value right now. We wouldn’t argue with the Nexus 7, but the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 doesn’t cut it on screen quality or processor speed and the Kindle Fire HD 7 locks you into Amazon’s ecosystem.

If anything this exercise highlights the potential flaws in any aggregation system. One of the most obvious factors that isn’t taken into account is the age of the review. For example, if the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 was reviewed now as a new tablet it would probably score a lot lower. The forthcoming Polaroid M7 looks far superior on paper and it’s going to retail for $129.

Competition is pushing down prices

We’ve discussed the best cheap Android tablets recently, but the market is moving so fast that you have to keep an eye on the horizon to snag the best deal. The rumors about an even cheaper Nexus 7 continue to circulate and we’ve already seen the base price drop as the 8GB model was phased out. There’s a reason everyone raves about the Nexus 7 as great value for money, but that’s not news to anyone.

What is worth considering is the amazing bargains that are about to launch. The Acer Iconia B1-A71 looked good at first glance for $149, but the Archos 70 Titanium is going to cost $119 and the specs are similar. Then there’s the ASUS Memo Pad for $149. You’ve also got to take a look at the Polaroid M7 which does outdoes all of them with a superior display and camera for just $129.

You can bet there will be more unveiled at MWC and beyond. How low will the prices go? We can see it being possible to snag a decent brand new 7-inch Android tablet for under $100 within the next few months.

What about quality?

Of course getting the best value tablet is about the sweet spot where quality and price meets. A lot of the cheap tablets flooding the market will be manufactured using cheap components and will prove to have reliability issues over time. Many people will be hesitant to buy a tablet from Polaroid or Archos, and it would certainly be advisable to wait for some detailed reviews. If you’re considering even cheaper options from Chinese manufacturers like Ainol then caution is advised (surely for English speakers telling everyone you have an Ainol tablet is off-putting enough).

If a deal looks too good to be true then it generally is.

Don’t lose sight of your needs

Value isn’t just about getting the best specs for your cash. You should never forget about what you want the tablet for in the first place. If you’re just going to browse the web then any of the bargain basement tablets will meet your needs. Avoid the upselling you find everywhere. That kind of warped logic leads people into buying a desktop that can run the latest PC games and then using it for email and word processing.

If you want an all-rounder then it is still impossible to look past the Nexus 7. If you don’t want to stretch to $199 and gaming is not a big deal for you then check out the reviews of the new wave that are landing within the next couple of months. We’ll keep you posted on all the new releases, but right now we’ve got our eye on the Polaroid M7, even if that overlay does look a bit too much like Windows Phone.

This variant of the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is a limited edition. The tablet only be available while supplies lasts, so get ‘em while they’re hot! Samsung will continue to sell the critically acclaimed tablet in black and white. Garnet Red will not be replacing its original color schemes.

The limited edition tablet will be sold at $219.99. Samsung, feeling generous, will also throw in a matching Garnet Red case for the tablet at no extra cost. The limited edition variant of the tablet is the perfect gift for a loved one considering Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.

Aside from having Jelly Bean out of the box, Samsung’s Garnet Red Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is no different from the version that released last year. It features a 1024 x 600 TFT display, a 1GHz dual core TI OMAP processor, 8GB of internal storage on board and a infrared beam.

Here’s to hoping that Samsung will release the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 in Pebble Blue eventually.

RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., January 28, 2013 – Samsung Electronics America Inc., a market leader and award-winning innovator in consumer electronics, today announced that a new Garnet Red Edition of the powerful Galaxy Tab® 2 7.0 will be available for a limited time, beginning this week from participating retailers.

The new Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, preloaded with Android 4.1, Jelly Bean, showcases Samsung’s commitment to providing users with choice, portability and entertainment. This limited edition version of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0 is competitively priced at $219.99 and also includes a matching Garnet Red case ($50 value) at no additional cost.
A stylish choice perfect for Valentine’s Day or any occasion
The Garnet Red Edition Galaxy Tab 2 was created for consumers who want to stay connected and entertained on-the-go, and are seeking a unique color offering.

“This new eye-catching version of the Galaxy Tab 2 offers endless entertainment in the palm of your hand, while the stylish Garnet Red look will set you apart from the crowd,” said Michael Abary, Senior Vice President, Samsung Electronics America, Inc. “The Garnet Red version of the Galaxy® S III has been incredibly well-received, so we are happy to make the same brilliant color available for our Galaxy Tab 2 as well.”
A compact 7″ powerhouse that’s smart and easy to use

The Galaxy Tab 2 is a powerful dual-core tablet running Android Jelly Bean, and features an easily accessible memory card slot for convenient loading of multimedia files in a range of supported file formats.
The tablet offer endless content access in a sleek design that can maximize the home entertainment experience. The Smart Remote App and built-in IR Blaster turns the Galaxy Tab 2 into a universal remote, helping users to easily find their favorite shows and change the channel directly from the tablet. Users can choose from hundreds of thousands of apps or access favorite movies and TV shows from Google Play or Media Hub.

The new Garnet Red Edition Galaxy Tab 2 will be available while supplies last, from Walmart, Amazon.com, Office Depot, Fry’s, Tiger Direct, Toys”R”Us and other fine retailers.
It features a 7″ TFT display and measures 0.41″ x 4.8″ x 7.6″. Weight including battery is 0.76 lbs and it features a built-in microSD slot supports up to 32 GB of additional storage. Connectivity includes WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0, USB 2.0 host, and integrated IR for home theater control.

A choice for every consumer

In addition to this new version of the Galaxy Tab 2 7.0, Samsung continues to offer the Galaxy Tab 2 in classic black or white in both 10.1 and 7.0 sizes. As well, the award-winning Galaxy Note 10.1 with integrated S-pen is available in black or white as well.
More information can be found at www.samsung.com.